Financially-Strained-No-Money-In-The-Pocketbook-Times

During financially- strained-no-money-in-the-pocketbook-times like these right now, there are many people who are struggling. It makes one think about what they NEED rather than what they want. There are many cases I've heard of where the family is going through tough times because of money. Can't pay the rent, have to move from a foreclosed house, all the retirement funds are depleted or gone, homeless,... there are many situations out there right now. It seems every times we turn around there is another store or restaurant closing it doors and having clearance.

Some might say, "How can we survive? Why is God allowing this to happen?" Well, I choose to look at is as something that is created by God, but for a good purpose. God may have created this all to happen to bring many to him who would not get there otherwise. He is allowing this to happen to grow us. Think about this:

Ecclesiastes 7:14- When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider; God has made the one as well as the other...

That verse really says alot to me, because God DID make this day, and the last, and even when WE feel that the times are bad for everyone, we need to realize that He made it for a reason and He calls it GOOD!

It's a time for me to really think about what kinds of things that I NEED rather than things that I WANT! There is a big difference. I am so thankful to God for everything that happens. He always takes care of me. It makes me wonder if I lost everything, Would I still praise Him for everything? It could be a test, such as Job, would I have the insight to know that when everything going on around me was "Bad", know that God was still there and cared for me. I hope that I would pass that test. Would you pass that test?


This is also a time in which we need to reach out to others to help them as much as possible. This is a time where we can put our faith into ACTIONS and really show the world (or at least our community) the unfailing, unchanging, unbreakable, undeniable, uninhibited, unwarranted, love of the gracious God of all!

Stuck at Home

It's a weird feeling for me to know that I will not be heading to First Baptist Church tomorrow for the service. It's is a good thing for me to have a change in churches at this time, and I am totally fine with it, because I am excited about the possibilities and where I will be going from now on, But it still is a weird feeling. Yes, I will be going to FBC for the Sunday School hour this week because we are having a Latvia training meeting, but I will not be staying for the Sermon.

I am however, very excited about our College group Barbecue. I am excited to try out my Tatter Salad. (Blue Comedy Tour Reference there, in case you missed it) I have never made this Tatter Salad and I must say, it tastes pretty darn good, thanks to All Recipes.com
This is a celebration for the end of our study in Ecclesiastes. We will be hangin out from 5-9 with lots of good food, and a great worship time. I am so grateful to the Toomies for consistantly opening up their house (and their LIVES) to 10-20 Young Adults.

I have been having a hard time lately with my working situation. As a substitute teacher, I am not getting many jobs each month. I had a total of 4 full days in March, but not only money-wise, its tough being stuck at home with nothing to do when I know I should be working 4-5 days a week and only get 1-2. Its hard to know what I should be doing with my "OFF" time. Should I read all day?, stay in bed and sleep?, go for a really, really, really long walk?, clean the house?, surf the net all day?, watch hours upon hours of Television?, what should I do??? I'd love comments on this if you feel led? I need to find something that I can do on my off time that is worthwhile, something that gives back to the community or God but is not a consistant time commitment (the reason behind this is that I do not have a steady day that I never have a job, so I don't feel as though I can take up SMART reading because it is a commitment during the day and I cannot set aside one day out of the week to do things such as these, I need to take jobs when they arise. Got all that??) Maybe I just need a good hobby! I don't know.

Well, thats all for tonight. I hope the thousands upon thousands of people that read this blog (Sarcastically, of course) comment on my questions. (NOT Sarcastically)

So, it's official. I am off to Latvia on July 7th. First Baptist Church has had a relationship with a Latvia church for a while and are embarking on new extensions with Eagles Wings Camp.
I and 10 other people will be heading on our way to Latvia on July 7th and returning July 22nd.

The plane tickets were confirmed today. As of right now, I am doing alright with my fund raising. We are all asked to raise $1000. on our own, and then our group will be raising further funds together. Of the $1000 to raise, my family and friends have been very supportive and I have raised $850. I really appreciate the prayers and support from all of my supporters.

I am very excited to go from Redmond to Portland, then Portland to Frankfurt Germany, then Frankfurt to Riga Latvia.

We will have a great layover in Frankfurt Germany on our way back- a whole day to explore the city.

This is when the missions trip gets real for me. When we havent bought anything yet, there is still backout time and theoretical, but now, we are at the point of no return. We are on our way.
I thank the Lord that I am ready for this trip. It will be such a growing experience for me.

For I know the Plans I have for you Declares the Lord

So I am in the middle of some changes that most people know about. Originally, my timeline for change was going to start in June or July of this year, but things don't always go as planned and so my family will be moving away from First Baptist Church of Bend starting next Sunday. We have been a part of this church for more than three years and so it is hard not to have feelings for this church and the congregation, but I do know that it is all God's will and his plan for us to be moving on and that is why I am so okay with it all.
When I found out about the possibility of our moving on, a few months ago, I decided to check out some new churches but because I couldn't leave FBC on Sundays (due to all the involvement I was in) I decided to check out churches via Saturday Night services. I started with New Hope Church in Bend. I stopped looking when I saw New Hope. It is a great church and I felt at home there and that I did not need to look any further. That first night, they had a great sermon, the worship was awesome and uplifted to God, and they even asked for volunteers for helping out with their Middle School program. I love that because I would like to get involved as much as possible at my new church. Then a few weeks later, there was a pitch for asking for volunteers for the Video Production team at New Hope. I also wanted to be involved in that team as well.
Anyways, I have pretty much made up my mind that New Hope is the way to go when I move on, and that is happening soon. I am still planning on going to Latvia with FBC Bend in July, but other than that and the okay for occasionally teaching Middle School on Mondays at FBC, I will have no other contact with that.
Please pray for my father and mother and sister. Its been tough for dad and mom, but especially Kelli; She is really having a tough time with this change in her life.

As for me, I am so excited to start a new chapter of my Church life. It will be nice to get to know new people and have the opportunity to be in volunteering roles at this church. It will be nice not to be known as Tim, Pastor Mikes son, but just as Tim. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me in the future, not just in churches but also in every facet of my life, where I will be in a few years, who I will marry, What I will be doing this time next year- a full-time job, going back to school, or subbing still. There are many aspects of my life that are libel to change, and normally I don't like change or surprises (and still don't in some sense) but this time I'm okay with it and just want the patience to wait for His "plans to prosper me and give me a hope."

New Apple MacBook Pro

So last monday was a great day. For one, I got my new computer; for the past 6 months or so, I have had a computer that was around 5 years old and was very unpredictable. It would work sometimes and then not start up for a few days. I decided to pretty much leave it on standby for the past few months because of the unreliabilty of it starting up. So I got just recently, an Apple MacBook Pro and it showed up last monday.

I have been saving up for this upgrade, and finally, I had enough money to get a new computer.
Its got lots of great features; did lots of downloads of software and installations today. I've had fun setting up the computer and finding all the new things I can do.

I NEED YOU AND YOU ALONE!

Freedom By Run Kid Run

All my chains I can't disengage 

And I don't believe that I want to 

One hand sings your praise 

The other brings me shame 

I have selfishness to blame 

And I'm singing for freedom 

I know I'm not the only one 

Praying to the one 

Who can bring me this freedom 

I'm ready for change 

Broken down I lay I keep holding my chains 

No long bound but here I stay 

I scream Father please I need rescuing 

I need You and You alone 

And I'm singing for freedom 

I know I'm not the only one 

Praying to the one 

Who can bring me this freedom 

I'm ready for (change) 

Still You patiently await 

Yet I won't just let go 

I see You and You alone 

Saying freedom 

And so I'm singing for freedom 

The time has come separation lost the war to love 

Take my hand gace has found you where You once began 

You're Alive! You're Alive! in the waking of new life 

Take my hand in the end there's only love 

There's only love 

There's only singing for freedom 

I know I'm not only one 

Praying to the One 

Who can bring me this freedom 

I'm ready for I'm ready for... 

Father please I need rescuing 

I need You and You alone 

Powerful Words, I know. This song is so amazing to me. It shows just how desperate we are without God and how we can't do anything about it because of our Sinful Nature. We just can't get rid of these chains that drag us down. It speaks of a life that is yearning for Freedom that can only come from God, and we try our best to get there, Sining praise to God one one hand, and then the other is bringing shame to us. We are all ready for change in our Spiritual lives at some time or another. Some might believe that this song is just about an unbeliever coming to God, but in my opinion, it can even be the person who has grown up as a Christian all of his or her life (theres lots of us out there, me too) and finding no more PASSION for God and the Christian Life. To be brutally honest, I get that way at times. I feel like I do all these things as "a Christian" but I don't have the spark that once lit my life on FIRE for God. I need to "Scream Father Please, I need rescueing. I need You and You alone" sometimes, just so I don't take my life for granted. 

I love how God is Patiently waiting for us to Scream that we NEED Him. The Bridge is so AMAZING to me; The Time has come, seperation lost the war to Love. When we bow down at His feet and say I Need You,  Love wins over seperation from God. Its all God's Grace. We become Alive in a New Life.

What a Weekend!

Wow, driving all the way to Portland from Bend- a 3 hour drive about- and no concert. Ever since I had found out about the Rock and Worship Concert in Portland, I was planning on going. You just can't beat the price of $10 for 4 great Christian bands; MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, Hawk Nelson, and Addison Road. I was pumped, and couldn't wait to go. So the concert was scheduled to be at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, which holds 11,000 people on Sunday night, March 23rd at 6pm.  I got together a group of us to go from our College Group and we checked out a van. We planned to travel to Portland from Bend right after church, we got together and left at a decent time. We got into Portland and hung out for a bit at Washington Square, then went on our way to the coliseum (which took a while because it was hard to follow Maggie- my GPS system) and once we got there, we found out that - hey Guess what, the concert is sold out! I was pretty upset at first because we drove all that way to go to this concert that was at a huge place and they did not even have tickets that you could buy online. If they expected it to be sold out, they should have sold them online so people like me wouldn't drive all that way for nothing. So, yeah to be honest, at first, I was bummed.

We collected ourselves and got our whole group together and decided we would make the best of the weekend in PTown. We decided to go out to a nice Dinner. We all agreed on the Old Spaghetti Factory, the one in downtown Portland on the Waterfront. That was great, but Maggie again led us astray (this time was not her fault, they had the wrong address on their website.) So we drove and walked around for an hour using two different GPS units and could not find this Restaurant.  Finally, we got a number and called a few times and asked for directions to the place. After all that time, we made it into the Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a great time at Dinner. The facility was wonderful and we had great fun hanging out and doing "the Manly Bonding, going to the Center for Physical Fitness" (inside joke). After dinner, my sister decided she was too tired from previous activities that she had to ditch us and go back to where she was staying to sleep. After dropping her off, we went to where we were going to stay, at my Aunt Christy and Uncle Mark's house. I really appreciate my Aunt and Uncle for letting us crash on their floor that night and making us breakfast the next morning.

Anyways, we got there and got ready for bed, then we stayed up and were talking with my relatives and with eachother. Since our college group usually has a Bible Study on Sunday nights, we decided to have our own bible study. This was great fun. We read the same chapter that our normal group did and I really enjoyed listening to what these ladies had to say about the chapter. Usually, I don't hear them speak up, and so it was great to hear them speak up in this situation.

The next morning, we got up and had a wonderful breakfast that my Aunt made for us. We left and went on an errand to Krispy Kreme to get doughnuts for families (a special treat for those of us who do not have one close to us) and then went to Powell's Bookstore in Downtown Portland, what a great place that is. We spent a few hours there at Powell's. Afterwards, we picked up a friend in Portland and headed home.

Even though we did not see a concert, that I was told was an awesome one, I still had a great time getting to know those girls more and I think our friendship went deeper this weekend. God works all things for the good.

The Worst Day in School

WOW, I used to love Third Graders and had not come upon a class of third graders that I didnt enjoy teaching... That was until this year. I have been to two classrooms that were third graders that were terrible classes. Today is one of those classes. Granted, today is the day before Spring Break, and the whole atmosphere is of having a week off of school, but it shouldn't be this bad.

I think it could be the worst class I have been to in a long time. They spent about 20 minutes with their heads on their desks because they would not be quiet during that time. I was expecting about 3 minutes, not 20.

There are talkers all over the classroom, students are up out of their seats. The only time that I got them to shut up was when I raised my voice at a few students; I do NOT like to raise my voice in the classroom. Just a tough day, but its only a half day and then I go to my sisters music class to play games with the younger kids, they always have fun.

Latvia

Where have you been lately? As for me, I have been very few places. Born and raised in Central Oregon, I have not been so far throughout the United States. I have traveled around Oregon and seen most of what Oregon has to offer. I've also been through Washington and California. I have traveled as far North as Alaska, and as far south as Tijuana, Baha Mexico. But, as far as traveling East and West, I have never traveled farther East than Nebraska. I really would like to do more traveling within the US, but also I would like to do international traveling.

As of recently, I have been chosen to participate in a mission trip to Latvia. I am so excited to go on this trip. The mission trip is a part of my church, First Baptist Church of Bend. We will be leaving July 9th and returning July 22nd.

A part of this trip is to go to Latvia to help out Eagles Wings Camp. Our group of Eleven people will be in two parts working at the camp. One group, the Men's team will be building various things at the camp, such as a High Ropes Course, and a boating dock, as well as other projects. Then the other group, a College-aged group, that I am a part of, will be working with the Middle and High School Students attending the camp to disciple them in Christ and share the Love of God.

There is a catch though, I have to help raise the funds for this trip. The expected amount of money per person going to Latvia is around $2,500. That's alot. We will be working as a group for fundraiser items as well as working individually to raise the money.

I am really excited to see what God has planned for this trip and will start a blog about the trip as soon as it really starts to take off with preparations and on the trip and after the trip. Stay tuned to hear more about this exciting part of my life.

Not a great business.

So I have a gripe today. How often do you get sucked into some sort of business that, on the surface looks great and very helpful, but then you find out later its not? I have.

I came across A-Z Eyeglass Repair in Bend a few years ago. I got my glasses broken and all bent out of shape. We took them to Costco and they could not help, they said they couldn't help but to take the glasses to A-Z. I did and the owner helped out and did a great job. She did not charge me for the repair at all and I really appriciated her service. 

Then last December, I was in the market for new glasses. I got my perscription from an optometrist and then took that prescrition and went to A-Z to get glasses. The thing with A-Z is that you have to pay them and then get reimbursed through your vision insurance. I went there, got my glasses ordered, paid for them and was told that that very night she would write a letter and send it out for the reimbursement.

Well I Waited, and Waited, and Waited, and Waited.

I was told it would take a month to get reimbursed, it went way over a month. I bought my glasses on January 1st and I called today to check on my money that was to come back to me. The insurance company said that they received the letter request on February 26th, that is a lot longer of a time than sending off the letter the day that I recieved the glasses.

My point is this: I cannot trust A-Z anymore and will not being buying glasses from her again and I would warn others who are interested in using the services of A-Z.

Spring Air and Substitute Teaching in it.

Don't you LOVE the first day that feels like spring is on the way after a winter that has seemed so long? I am not saying that we had a huge cold winter, but today felt like the first day of Spring. Something was in the air, the sun was out, the wind a bit chilly, but still nice enough to go out and sit on the porch. I think that is such an invigorating feeling to have after a winter season. It lets you know that Spring isnt quite there, but is so close you can taste (and smell) it. I also feel like this around this time, and it almost makes me want to change my favorite season (from Summer) to Spring, ALMOST!

So, being a Substitute teacher in this economy has its ups and downs. There are alot of us subs in the district this year and so getting a sub job has been more difficult than previous years. The last two years, I have been a Sub in Central Oregon and the first of the year starts out slow but then it picks up and I have no problems except maybe the week before and after a long break such as Christmas or Spring Break or whatnot. No problems, that is, until June, then I get hardly any jobs. Anyways, this year, has been tough, it started out WAY slow and has been up and down and this month (granted Spring Break) it has been the worst. I have one days worth of work so far this month and expect it to be bad next week and the next as well.

Anyways, I just have to give it all to God and trust that he will provide.

Trends and Rejection

What creates a craze?
Why are crazes so hard to resist?
Who are these fashionsetters, trendsetters, and etcetera.
How does one become a trendsetter?

I think a trendsettter is one who has public interest, has a mind of their own, and a unique outlet among other aspects. This topic makes me think of my sister. She is not a trendsetter, in my opinion, but she certainly has a mind of her own, a unique outlook on life, and likes to voice her uniqueness. I would not call her a trendsetter though because she is not out there and inspiring others to do as she does, she just doesn't care what others think or say, which is awesome, if you ask me. I strive to be like her in this way.

The reason this subject has been on my mind is because of an internet craze. When I was in Junior High and High School the craze was Instant Messenger, everyone who was anybody was on IM. At first, "That's stupid" was my response. Then enevitably, I decided I needed to get on IM and I loved being on it, then the craze was gone and so was I. Next came MySpace. MySpace, I thought the same way, why would anyone want to waste their precious time on that stupid website, then I was peer pressured to get on so I could further God's Kingdom by connecting with students I was hanging out with in LaGrande. Then of course, I became a MySpace ADDICT. I was on constantly and there was not a time that I went online, that I would not check my MySpace to see if I had any new messages or post or whatnot. Now, the past 6 months or so, its Blogs and FaceBook. As you can see, I am into blogs now, I have enjoyed figuring out how this all works and have been fairly consistant these past few days. I started a blog a few years ago but did not get very far and did not see a need for one, but I wanted to start one up for a journal-type of thing for my website; add some bulk to the website if you will. I have enjoyed this blog so far, but it makes me think, What will happen in 5 years from now? Will I still be blogging then, or even in one year, or 6 months? I am so fickle technology-wise.
Facebook is another issue for me. It seems to be "The New MySpace" and I deleted my MySpace account because of my addiction. Also, I seem to like to reject "THE POPULAR" thing to do. Just like iPods. I used to hate iPods because they were all the rage, then I gave in and got one and never looked back. I love my iPod, its amazing the technology. Anyways, I was peerpressured into Facebook again and we will have to see. I think I will be trying to limit my connectedness to Facebook just to make sure that I don't get carried away- Afterall, it will be dead in 3 years, just like MySpace.

Dogs and a Major Concert

What is the best dog breed? In my lifetime, my family has had: a Corgie/Beagle, a Purebred Cockerspaniel, and a Boxer/Lab. When I was young, I loved my Boaz (Corgie/Beagle). He was a soft, sweet dog, that loved me despite the things I did to him when I was younger. Then we had Charity, "My little Black Girl"as dad Loved to call her. She was a good dog but barked at everyone, even people she knew. Then, of course there's our current dog, Rebecca. She is a great dog. I love playing with her and throwing the ball.  When I was off living on my own, I missed having a dog and I was just thinking about how dogs can fill a life. I am housesitting for a family in our church this week and they have a Beagle, Toby, and he is SOO cute. He knows when he gets food and lets you know when he needs to go out.

If I was living alone, all by myself, I would get a dog as soon as I was on my own. They are such good companions.

On another topic, I cannot wait for a concert that is happening in a few weeks. I am organizing a trip for our College Career group to go to this concert from here in Bend all the way to Portland for the weekend of March 22nd-23rd.

The concert is just $10. and has some great bands. Hawk Nelson, Jeremy Camp, MercyMe and Addison Road are all the bands that will be there in Portland at the Memorial Colluseum.  We are all so excited to take this trip. We will be leaving Sunday after church, get some food in Madras, on our way, and then get over to Portland so we can spend some time in the big city, then go to the Concert and we will be staying on a floor overnight, get up and get some breakfast and get out to go over the mountain. I can't wait.

Rock it for God

Church is a big part of my life. So is Family. I love my family. I grew up in the church, my father is a pastor, a man I look up to for everything. He is everything I want to be as a person and as a Man. Dad is one of the pastors at First Baptist Church in Bend and just recently was cut back as staff starting as of June 2009.

I have been attending and serving at First Baptist for three years now. I enjoy working at the church and volunteering. I have been involved at FBC in many aspects of the church. I have been very involved in the worship as a singer and bass guitar player. I also have been involved in updating and uploading and editing the sermons for the Podcast online. I have been serving in the Children's ministy for a few years as well. I started out as a 1st and 2nd grade teaching for Sunday School and am currently working as a 4th and 5th grade teacher for Children's Church. A huge part of my work at FBC has been as a Middle School teacher. I have been teaching the Middle Schoolers on Sunday mornings for 3 years. I also have been working with the MS program on their Youth Night, first as a volunteer helper, then as a Middle School Director for a few months. Because of my father's pending job cut, I am slowly moving out of my responsibilities at the church and will be switching churches when my father is done.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, Rock it for God. God wants us to attend church, Grow in Him, with others, and Serve for God. I always encourage others to get involved at their church, and to serve. Its the least we could do for a God who has done everything JUST to have a relationship with us.

Life and Love and Why

She is not interested in me. Ya know, its funny how God works. I prayed a whole bunch before I composed that email expressing my feelings to her. Not that she would say yes, but that it was the right thing to do. On big things like this I always try to pray for guidance. I prayed this morning that if He had her in my future that it would be clear to both of us. I also prayed that if it was not, then He would show us. I also knew that this was the right thing for me to do because of my scardy-cat-ness. I needed to take that chance, to get out there, and put my feelings on the line. I have the view that if you never take a chance like that then when you do, it'll be VERY tough. So even though she did not have the same feelings for me, I am alright with it. I know God's plan for me will be great. I also know that I am a very great catch; I have wonderful qualities, "I am a sexy man of God" (a quote from Rasing Helen, just in case you were wondering)

As for now, I am waiting on God for future relationships. I do not feel that he has anyone else in my life right now. 

I'm a Scardy Cat

So, as for my love life, I have been proud to announce to anyone who asks (or sometimes not even asking) that I have had "One and Only Girlfriend" and been proud of that. Part of that status is because I did not date in High School. I felt (and still feel) that Dating has a purpose. That purpose is to find the Person that God has in store for you for marriage. So in High School or under, I feel there is no need to date. 

Also, another aspect is how much of a scardy-cat I am. I do not like to take risks, I am a safe person, I don't like to put myself out there, all vulnerable and so on. So, I usually don't tell others about my feelings for them. If I have a crush on a young woman, I do not go up to her and ask her our, I may tell my friends or my family I like her but I never do anything about it. That changed as of last night. I made a decision to let someone in my life know of my feelings for them and put myself on the line. I know its sortof a bad way of doing it, but I emailed her explaining my feelings. I am not much of a phone person, and every time I would like to talk to her about it, we were around others and I didn't feel comfortable about talking that way, so I had to use the email.

The email was composed this morning and I am currently waiting for a response. Man, I Hate  waiting, I have patience issues, not just in these types of cases but also in other aspects of my life. Being a teacher, I have quite a bit of patience for other people, children esspecially, but there is a threashold there. Also, I have noticed that the threashold lowers exponentailly when I do not have time to myself (like in a family vacation for example) and also when I don't get enough sleep, or am tired.

So, other things are going on in my life right now, but I am going to have to set those down in another entry.